A Nation Divided: Immigration in America

A special cross-platform report on Immigration in America debuts May 26

Below:

New York, NY – May 17, 2010 – According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll – the majority of Americans (64 percent) back Arizona’s new controversial immigration law. Yet nearly an identical amount (66 percent) believe the law will lead to the discrimination of Latino immigrants who reside in the U.S. legally. NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo take a special look at the complicated topic of immigration during a daylong series of reports on-air and online May 26, 2010.

The cross network series, “A Nation Divided,” sheds light on the on-going debate about immigration in America through investigative reporting, first hand accounts and interviews with immigration experts. A poll of American attitudes towards immigration will be released in conjunction with the series on MSNBC.com.

“With the volume of news and headlines about immigration coming out of Arizona and from all over the nation, it's the perfect time for us to spend a day examining these issues and their effect on this country” said Alex Wallace, Senior Vice President of NBC News. “We are committed to exploring the immigration issues in our nation further, and delivering our viewers informed discussion and insightful investigation. These are all subjects NBC News has and will continue to cover extensively.”

"This exciting and important editorial initiative highlights the unique power of NBC News and Telemundo,” said Ramon Escobar, Executive Vice President of Telemundo. “Together we can cover this complex issue for our diverse audience from all angles, in Spanish and English in a way that simply no other company or news organization could do."

NBC News will include special reporting on both “Today” and “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.” While “Today” will look at how immigration affects families on both ends of the spectrum, “Nightly News” will take a closer look at the recently passed Arizona law, and other states contemplating similar measures.

All Telemundo network news shows and local Telemundo TV stations will all have a special focus on Immigration. Telemundo has led the way on immigration coverage among Spanish-language broadcasters and was the only network to originate and anchor from Phoenix, ground-zero of the immigration law controversy. Telemundo will return to Phoenix on May 26th to report for the network's morning show "Levantate', "Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste" and "Noticiero Telemundo con Jose Diaz-Balart". Also joining Maria Celeste and Jose in the network's special coverage is Telemundo's popular on-air personality Dr. Ana Maria Polo who extensive experience in immigration issues.

MSNBC hosts guests discussing immigration every hour. From “Morning Joe” through primetime programming, every show on the network will examine immigration related issues. Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart will guest-host an entire hour on the network. Segments throughout the day include: the politics of immigration reform; pending legislation on the state and federal levels; the future of the controversial Arizona immigration law; and a look at a Virginia suburb that, like Arizona, confronted immigration head on.

CNBC will debate the economics of immigration reform and discuss the tax implications of legalizing current immigrants. Strong voices from both sides of the debate will outline the pros and cons and the potential economic impact of immigration reform. CNBC will also look at the current debate surrounding a bill proposal to increase the number of visas available to immigrants.

Additional segments, both archived and new or updated, will be featured on MSNBC.com, TheGrio.com and Dateline’s website (www.dateline.msnbc.com). Meanwhile, local NBC affiliates will be reporting on community based immigration stories as well.